Wandering the Pines of Mississippi

Joining me are my wife, Amber, and our 3 children, Caroline, Race, and Aria. Please follow along with us as we adventure through the magnolia state. For the last couple of years, my family of 5 has been traveling to all 82 counties of Mississippi. As you can see from the posted videos/photos, we research the history and “best things to do” in each county, from the important to the obscure to the beautiful to the best eats to the just plain ol’ fun. We then travel to each county to find the history, take pictures, and experience the best each county has to offer, while making friends along the way. We stay, interview the locals, etc., till we have a good feeling for each area. Our travels were only meant to be a personal exploration and adventures to be shared as a family; however, during the process, I found a greater purpose and that it is necessary to share our story with others. As a teacher, I’ve heard many of my 19-20 year old students say they have "never traveled outside" of their hometown. I’ve met many adults whom just “stay in” to avoid the outside world and to “save money.” My children would stay on their electronic devices because, otherwise, “there’s nothing to do”, if I did not show them what’s available nearby, often for free, in the outside/real world. After personally sharing some of our adventures, people genuinely light-up and get inspired to travel around MS, shocked about some of these spots of interest that they do not even realize are in their own backyards. Also, many of the amazing stories told by the locals about our history is not written down anywhere; there is no digital footprint, and I fear they will be lost forever without writing about them. Therefore, I have been advised to share our adventures so that others, both in MS and out, can benefit from our experiences. I’ve always had a passion for MS. I remember when the hit TV series ER aired an episode that took place in MS called “In the Middle of Nowhere” which displayed all of the negative stereotypes and none of the Magnolia state’s beauty. It hurt me, even as a child. This experience among others, caused me to become an advocate for MS. Reading social media posts from fellow Mississippian’s, ¾ of our own residents often do not realize what there is to do in MS nor the beauty and talent that reside here, affected by the negative stereotypes. I want to change that narrative. After visiting each county, I’ve discovered places that one would only find through intense research. Some of these entrepreneurs and tourist attractions have begged me to get the word out as there is very little footprint for some of them, especially the obscure ones or those not near a larger city. It’s already been so fulfilling as I have been able to create a community among many of our entrepreneurs around the state, providing a way for them to discover and get in touch with one another, but I want to help more. What began as a personal family adventure has become something much more. I want to change the negative stereotypes, to reveal the beauty to those outside and inside our state (there’s no reason to ever be bored!), and to help those businesses and locations out there get more credit and exposure. In the future, I will pursue this passion of mine to publish a book, develop a website and app, and pursue speaking engagements to personally promote our great state of MS!